When NBA Headbands Go Wrong

J.R. Smith earned a nasty gash above his right eye in a rough-and-tumble 102-96 loss to the Boston Celtics, meaning the New York Knicks medical staff just ended up using Smith's headband as a support for his bandage.

However, it wasn't the first time the Knicks' medical staff used a headband as a health accessory, as they used it to support a bandage on the side of Jason Kidd's head earlier this season.

When you think about it, a headband is the perfect medical tool. If it's there to support a bandage, it gives the wearer a bit more compression, and it holds the bandage firmly in place.

Plus, if there were to be a rogue bear on the loose in an arena, a headband can always be used as a tourniquet in a situation where a limb has gone missing.

This year has been an interesting example of headbands going rogue, looking completely silly or just looking completely wrong.

The NBA history book is stuffed full of ridiculous moments in headband history.

If we want to get the earliest look at headband hijinks, we've got to go all the way back to Wilt Chamberlain.

Chamberlain's headband was revolutionary, but mostly because it was the first piece of cloth ever to graze a forehead on an NBA court.

Of course, the Chamberlain style of headband looked more like a folded-over paper towel held on by some bits of string, so it never really caught on. It was so goofy that only Chamberlain could look cool with it on.

Headbands didn't really catch on until Slick Watts turned them into a fashion accessory, although he wasn't always able to stay away from looking like a goober.

More recently, headband-related tomfoolery has been more noticeable than ever, and it's hard to slip anything by the astute bloggers of the Internet these days.

As far as ugly headband designs go, the "Stars-and-Stripes" beauties have to take the cake. Not only were they maddeningly distracting, but they also just clashed with most team's uniforms.

Well, they looked ridiculous on everybody except Spencer Hawes.

Take one mullet-wearing, blue-collar looking dude. Throw him in the red, white and blue Philadelphia 76ers uniform and toss a stars-and-stripes headband on top of that mullet, and you've got yourself a beautiful thing.